Middle East and North Africa political instability

摘要

The markets of the Levant have all been impacted by the four year war in Syria; Egypt has been affected by political instability; and emerging markets, such as Iraq have been hit by the rise of the Islamic State. It is only the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries that are bucking the regional downturn, although there too the paint market has been affected by lower government expenditure due to lower oil prices impacting budgets, which are expected to tighten further in the near term.